Giants defeat Braves, Gausman delivers a walk-off sacrifice fly
SAN FRANCISCO » The last time Tyler Rogers closed a ballgame for the Giants, Donovan Solano was watching the game from a Manhattan hotel room on the first night of a 10-day quarantine.
Solano had just tested positive for COVID-19 despite being fully vaccinated and was
dealing with flu-like symptoms that kept him away from the ballpark, apart from his teammates and off the baseball diamond at one of the most critical junctures of the season.
On Friday at Oracle Park, Rogers and Solano were both back in the spotlight, but for different reasons for a Giants club that won 6-5 in 11 innings on a walk-off sacrifice fly from none other than Thursday’s starting pitcher Kevin Gausman.
After Jake McGee was placed on the 10-day in
jured list Friday with a right oblique strain, Giants manager Gabe Kapler made Rogers the interim closer and called on him for his first save opportunity since August 26. The right-hander was greeted in ominous fashion as Braves sluggers Austin Riley and Adam Duvall recorded back-to-back singles on the first two pitches Rogers threw.
The rally set the stage for Braves catcher Travis d’Arnaud to stun the Oracle Park crowd as he lofted a high, arcing flyball into the left field seats for a goahead three-run home run.
The home run should have cost the Giants a chance to extend its lead in the National League West over a Dodgers team that lost to the Reds hours earlier, but Kapler hadn’t yet inserted Solano into the game.
Braves closer Will Smith recorded consecutive outs to open the bottom of the ninth before Solano, who was activated Friday, came off the bench for his first at-bat in more than three weeks. Pinch-hitting for Tommy La Stella, Solano sent a line drive over the left field wall to tie the game at 5-5 and bring the Giants back to life in a game the Braves had in hand.
For much of Friday’s game, the Giants who appeared poised to be the
comeback winners as they fell behind 2-0 before in the first inning before answering immediately. Left fielder Darin Ruf drew a leadoff walk against right-hander Ian Anderson before firs baseman Brandon Belt blasted a home run into the right field arcade.
Belt’s 26th home run of the season and 15th since the All-Star break was caught by a fan who made an impressive leaping grab while wearing a jersey of another well-known Giants first baseman, J.T. Snow. While the back of the jersey represented Snow’s name, the fan was also clearly a big supporter of Belt as he used black electrical tape to create a makeshift “C” on his jersey just as Belt
did on the road at Wrigley Field last Friday.
The Giants took the lead in the second when Crawford sent a line drive over the left center field wall to match his career-high with his 21st homer of the season. The solo shot put the Giants back in control and gave Webb the chance to pitch with a lead, which is what the right-hander has done throughout a dominant second half of the season.
Webb needed help from his defense to get through a 1-2-3 sixth inning and he received it from Crawford, who laid out into the hole between third base and shortstop to snag a 110.1mile per hour one-hopper off the bat of Braves third baseman Austin Riley.